Bellavista may not be cheap, but it's infinitely more complex than your
average prosecco.

A recent trip to Champagne has reawakened my fondness for fizz. Having been disarmed in Rheims by the real thing, I initially turned my nose up at other sparklers. I didn't want to be seduced by any old ersatz bubbly. I reasoned that even – no, especially – in these dark times, it had to be bona fide champagne or nothing.

After a while, though, I became restless (and broke). I had a brief flirtation with a sassy bottle of Lindauer from New Zealand and a breathless fling with a case of Australian Green Point. It's a cinch resisting the clumsy come-on of cava, but when a sexy little Italian prosecco fluttered its eyelashes at me, I was lost.

Despite my love of champagne, I have always carried a torch for prosecco, and I return to it time and again. The finest examples come from the vineyards surrounding the towns of Valdobbiadene and Conegliano in the foothills of the Alps, and these can be enchanting; light, refreshing and uncomplicated.

Prosecco is often spoken of as the "champagne of Italy", but this is misleading since the grapes and method of production differ from those of northern France. I prefer the description given by Gianluca Bisol, whose family has been making the stuff for five generations. "Since there is no question in my mind that champagne is the king of the bubbles, I like to think of prosecco as the prince," he once told me.

A worthy prince to be sure, but not one in the same league as franciacorta, to whose voluptuous charms I have just recently succumbed. I have barely given prosecco or champagne a backward glance. Fickle, me?

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This tantalising sparkler from the southern banks of Lake Iseo in Brescia in Lombardy is the true candidate for title of "champagne of Italy", not least because – unlike prosecco – its price ain't far off that of a fancy Grande Marque.

"Franciacorta is the only sparkling wine in the world apart from champagne whose name refers not only to the wine itself, but also to the method and to the region of its production," explains Mattia Vezzola, winemaker at the largest producer, Bellavista. "Although we look to champagne for our inspiration we don't want to imitate it. I am Italian and I want to make Italian wine. We are as different from the French as mozzarella and oil are from foie gras and butter."

Still wines – mainly red – have been made in Franciacorta for centuries, but it is only since the Sixties that sparklers have been produced. DOC status was granted in 1967 (specifying that the wines should be made in the Champagne method, using only hand-harvested chardonnay, pinot nero and – in an Italian twist – pinot bianco rather than pinot meunier) with DOCG following in 1991.

In 2003, franciacorta became the only wine in Italy to be exempt from putting this appellation on its bottles. As with champagne – which similarly doesn't declare its AOC status – the word franciacorta is deemed enough to guarantee quality and place of origin.

"It has all happened so quickly," says Vezzola. "Bellavista's first vintage was only in 1979. We're still a work in progress although we're close to how we want to be. There is a very un-Italian consensus among the producers. We make and follow strict rules and are determined to make franciacorta one of the world's great wines."

There are currently around 90 producers, making some 10 million bottles a year from a vineyard area of just 2,200ha. About an hour from Verona, it's a delightful region with vine-covered hills rolling down towards Lake Iseo and snow-capped mountains.

"The terroir here is crucial," says Gianluca Uccelli, winemaker at neighbouring Contadi Castaldi. "The soil is similar to Champagne but, crucially, our climate is warmer. This gives us ripeness. Cooling breezes off the lake and mountains give freshness and perfume. We get higher natural sugar and lower acidity than they do."

This perfect maturity of fruit is the key. Chardonnay gives freshness and complexity; pinot nero gives body and structure and pinot bianco gives fresh fruit and a gentle citrus acidity.

"Imagine the peach," says Vezzola. "If you eat one that's too young, it's green and acidic with no aroma. Eat a fully ripe one and it's perfumed and full of sweet juice. Thanks to the ripeness we get here, our wines are far more digestible than champagne and far more complex than prosecco. You could drink a whole bottle yourself with no ill effect."

Well, I do my best and in the luxurious L'Albereta Locanda, Bellavista's own spa-hotel, I sample some treats. The eye-catchers are the crisp and peachy Bellavista Cuvée Brut; the soft, fresh and apply Bellavista Gran Cuvée Satèn, a 100 per cent chardonnay in the style of a French crémant; the fragrant and flowery Contadi Castaldi Brut and the fresh, vibrant, crunchy fruit Contadi Castaldi Rosé. They are indeed free of any sharp acidity, to which some lesser champagnes are prone, and they're pleasingly complex, too. Sadly, the wines of Franciacorta aren't cheap or easy to find, but they are moorishly delicious and make a compelling alternative to champagne.

At £20 plus per bottle, though, they aren't for every day. That said, I'll never drink another fizz again. Honest.